Cougars Travel Northwest This Week to Open Western Athletic Conference Play

Junior Beatriz Palmieri

Match #16
Chicago State (6-9, 0-0) at Utah Valley (8-5, 0-0)
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018 – 7 p.m.
Lockhart Arena – Orem, Utah
Live Video - Live Stats

Match #17
Chicago State at Seattle (7-6, 0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018 – 4 p.m.
Redhawk Center – Seattle, Wash.
Live Stats

UVU-Seattle Match Notes

CHICAGO -

Opening Serve – The Chicago State volleyball team heads northwest this week to kick off Western Athletic Conference play with a pair of matches. CSU opens its conference slate on tomorrow night in Orem, Utah against host Utah Valley at UVU's Lockhart Arena with a start time of 7 p.m. before closing the weekend in Washington state on Saturday afternoon at Seattle beginning at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Cougars – CSU enters the opening week of WAC play sporting a record of 6-9 following losses to Brown (2-3), Bethune-Cookman (1-3) and host Stetson (2-3) last weekend at the Stetson Invitational in DeLand, Fla. Senior outside hitter Lauryn Dela Cruz (Provo, Utah/Timpview) leads the Green and White in kills with an average of 3.86 a set, while junior defensive specialist Megan Klavitter (Fenton, Mich./Linden) is averaging 5.80 digs per set to lead the WAC and rank seventh in the current NCAA Division I leaderboard. Sophomore setter Lacee Adams (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) is tops on the team in total assists (347) and assists per set (6.20), and junior outside hitter Beatriz Palmieri (Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil/Professora Carlina Cacapava de Mello) has tallied a team-high 14 service aces so far this season.

Scouting the Wolverines – Utah Valley brings an 8-5 season record into tomorrow's showdown with CSU after dropping a pair of matches last week with a 3-2 defeat at home to Weber State at home and a 3-1 road loss at No. 24 Utah. Freshman outside hitter Kazna Tarawhiti leads the Wolverines in kills by averaging 4.04 per set, while junior middle blocker Jasmine Niutupuivaha is producing team-highs of a .331 hitting percentage and 1.04 blocks per set off 51 total stuffs (three solo, 48 assisted). Junior setter Madi Wardle is dishing off an average of 5.76 assists a set to pace the UVU offense.

Series History – UVU has notched victories in all 22 meetings with Chicago State in a series that began in 2007 which has spanned through the Independent, Great West Conference and WAC ranks. Last season, the Wolverines gained wins in both matches played with CSU, including a 3-1 win on Nov. 11, 2017 in the season finale for both teams at Lockhart.

Scouting the Redhawks – Seattle brings a 7-6 record into its conference play following yesterday's 3-0 loss at Oregon State after producing a 2-1 record last weekend at the SU invitational. The Redhawks earned wins in the tournament over Idaho State (3-2) and Tennessee Tech (3-0) before dropping with a four-set decision to Montana State. Freshman outside/opposite hitter Sofia Sanchez leads SU in kills with an average of 2.40 per set, while Tijana Milojevic has produced a team-leading 3.89 digs a set and 17 service aces. Senior middle blocker Maja Stojanovic ranks first on the Redhawks with 41 total blocks (six solo, 35 assisted – 0.91 bps) and a .286 hitting clip.

Series History – Seattle has posted a 10-0 mark in the all-time series with Chicago State ever since CSU enter the WAC in 2013-14. The Redhawks captured both meetings over the Cougars last season which included a 3-1 victory in Seattle on Nov. 9, 2017.

WAC Leader – Klavitter ranks first among the WAC dig leaders with an average of 5.80 per set which also places her seventh in the current NCAA Division I national standings.

CSU's Double Stack – The Cougars have produced 20 double-doubles so far this season with Palmieri leading the way with seven followed by Dela Cruz with five and Adams with four. Other players posting double-doubles this season are senior setter Ludmila Bomfim (Belo-Horizonte Minas Gerais, Brazil/Escola Estadual Pedro II) (three) and freshman outside hitter Autumn DeSantis (Canfield, OH/Cardinal Mooney) (one).

Gaining a Grand – Klavitter enters the weekend with 1,136 digs in her collegiate career to become the second CSU player to record 1,000 career digs in the school's Division I era. She achieved this feat during the third set at Georgia State on Sept. 8 and is the only active player in the WAC with more than 1,000 digs. Klavitter is 152 digs away from surpassing Mysta Townsell's (2010-13) D-I school-record total of 1,314.

Up Next – CSU returns to the Jacoby Dickens Center for its final home match of September on Tuesday, Sept. 25 with an in-state battle against Eastern Illinois with the first serve set for 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Lacee Adams: S; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#11 Ludmila Bomfim: S; 5' 9"; Senior

#8 Lauryn Dela Cruz: OH; 5' 8"; Senior

#4 Megan Klavitter: L/DS; 5' 3"; Junior

#2 Autumn DeSantis: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

#7 Beatriz Palmieri: OH; 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#6 Lacee Adams
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: S

#11 Ludmila Bomfim
: 5' 9"; Senior
: S

#8 Lauryn Dela Cruz
: 5' 8"; Senior
: OH

#4 Megan Klavitter
: 5' 3"; Junior
: L/DS

#2 Autumn DeSantis
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH

#7 Beatriz Palmieri
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned